HMICFRS Inspection Reports

Following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, the then Home Secretary commissioned His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) under section 54(2B) of the Police Act 1996 to assess current vetting and counter-corruption capacity and capability in policing across England and Wales. This was to include the ability of police forces to detect and deal with misogynistic and predatory behaviour.

HMICFRS were also asked to consider current vetting (and re-vetting), arrangements for transferees, whistleblowing arrangements, the work of counter-corruption units and, where relevant, wider Professional Standards Departments.

The report can be viewed here.

PCC's response

The PCC's response can be viewed here.

This report focuses on the police response to serious acquisitive crime, which HMICFRS have defined as domestic burglary, personal robbery, theft from a person, and theft of and from a motor vehicle.

The following areas are examined in the report:

• call handling;
• the initial policing response;
• how forces allocate investigations; and
• investigation standards.

HMICFRS aim to identify what is working well, what needs to change, and the main barriers to making improvements.

To help forces to improve and learn from each other, HMICFRS also highlight some examples of the good and innovative practices found during the inspection process.

The report can be viewed here.

PCC's response

The PCC's response can be viewed here.

This is the second and final part of Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Service (HMICFRS) and Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) joint inspection of the investigation and prosecution of rape in England and Wales.

The first part (Phase 1) examined cases from the point when they were reported to the police through to the decision (either by the police or the CPS) to take no further action.

The second part (Phase 2) examines cases from the point of charge through to their conclusion, and includes those which were decided in court (although no judgements are made about the decisions taken by the judges and juries). The combined findings from parts one and two of this inspection provide a comprehensive assessment of the criminal justice system’s current approach to rape, and an account of victims’ experiences of the system.

HMICFRS and HMCPSI commissioned a research report, to hear about victims’ experiences directly and asked the police, CPS, Government departments and victim representative groups for their own qualitative and quantitative data about what it is like to report a rape in England and Wales today.

The report can be viewed here.

In March 2021, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect the effectiveness of police engagement with women and girls.

This final report [builds on the previous interim report] and sets out findings from our inspection of how effectively the police respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG) offences. These are violent and high-harm crimes that disproportionately affect women and girls, such as domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking and female genital mutilation.

The report can be viewed here. 

PCC's response

The PCC's response can be viewed here.

This is the first of two inspection reports that will consider the response, decision-making and effectiveness of the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) at every stage of a rape case – from first report through to finalisation of the case.

This report focuses on those cases where either the police or the CPS made the decision to take no further action (that is, not to proceed with the case). The second report, considering cases from charge to disposal, will be published in February 2022.

In conducting this phase 1 inspection, inspectors from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and Her Majesty's Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate (HMCPSI) gathered extensive evidence of the experiences of victims of rape in the criminal justice system. The cases were traced through police and CPS files, examining the decisions made and support offered at every stage.

HMICFRS and HMCPSI also commissioned a research report, to hear about victims’ experiences directly and asked the police, CPS, Government departments and victim representative groups for their own qualitative and quantitative data about what it is like to report a rape in England and Wales today.

The report can be viewed here.

In March 2021, the Home Secretary commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) to inspect the effectiveness of police engagement with women and girls. 

This interim report sets out findings and recommendations from one part of this inspection, which focuses on how effectively the police respond to violence against women and girls (VAWG) offences. These are violent and high-harm crimes that disproportionately affect women and girls, such as domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking, and female genital mutilation (FGM).

The interim report can be viewed here.

The United Kingdom entered the first national lockdown on 23 March 2020. Most of us were instructed to stay at home. This meant many victims of domestic abuse could not distance themselves from their abuser, safely contact the police for help or get support from family and friends. Police forces started to work differently, recognising that the absence of a call to the police does not imply absence of abuse and harm. Many forces adopted innovative new practices to check on the safety of victims of domestic abuse, finding new ways to ‘reach in’ to them rather than waiting for victims to ‘reach out’.

This review expands on the findings set out in the recent Policing in the pandemic report, highlighting good practice and innovation. HMICFRS have also made three recommendations aimed at ensuring forces continue to respond to the challenges of policing domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

This is the fifth in a series of thematic domestic abuse publications since the first HMICFRS report was published in March 2014, Everyone’s business: Improving the police response to domestic abuse. This review looks at how the police responded to the unique challenges the COVID-19 pandemic placed on preventing and responding to domestic abuse.

The report can be viewed here.

In July 2020, HMICFRS announced their intention to inspect the police response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The inspection took a snapshot of policing and assessed what happened from March to November 2020.

HMICFRS consulted many interested parties about the aspects of policing that our inspection should cover. The inspection focused on:

• preparation for the pandemic;
• overall leadership;
• working with other organisations;
• policing – workforce wellbeing, protecting people who are vulnerable, requests for service, investigating crime, enforcing coronavirus legislation (the Four Es approach – engage, explain, encourage, enforce); and
• arrangements for keeping people in custody.

The report can be viewed here.

In March 2020, HMICFRS suspended all inspection work so that police forces and fire and rescue services could focus on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The inspection took a snapshot of policing during the pandemic and looked at what happened from March to November 2020. The inspection assessed how policing:

• understood and prepared for the potential and actual impact of the pandemic;
• responded initially, and continues to respond, to the pandemic; and
• is evaluating its response to the pandemic, establishing what is and is not working and using this to shape how the police service operates.

The HMICFRS report Policing in the pandemic: The police response to the COVID-19 pandemic was published in April 2021.

This report supplements the wider inspection with more detailed findings on how custody services operated in a COVID-19 environment. It aims to:

• increase the police service’s national and local understanding of how custody services operate in a COVID-19 environment;
• show how services have been/are affected and how police forces are responding; and
• establish what improvements forces and the wider criminal justice system can make.

The report can be viewed here.

Over 35 years on from the introduction of stop and search legislation, HMICFRS has found that no force fully understands the impact of the use of these powers.

When the police use their powers disproportionately – in differing proportions on different ethnic groups – it causes suspicion among some communities that they are being unfairly targeted.

This can undermine police legitimacy, which is a fundamental aspect of the British model of policing by consent.

For some individuals, particularly those who describe their ethnicity as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, it can reinforce the perception that there is a culture of discrimination within the police.

Now that HMICFRS has some data on the police use of force, some similar concerns are also arising about this area of practice.

The report can be viewed here.